In Need
by Irrelevant86
Summary: While working on their beat Ponch and Jon find a girl wandering on the side of the highway. She's injured and doesn't speak at all. The only person she seems to respond to is Ponch. Can our favorite CHP officers help her?
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: Okay so this is my first CHiPs story so don't hate it too much! I recently got into this show because of my mom, and despite being part of the Police Explorers program I don't exactly know all of the police codes and stuff like that so if I make a mistake just let me know, but please be nice about it! Hope you like it!**_

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_**In need**_

_Chapter one_

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Two CHP officers sat on their motorcycles on a highway that was closed for construction, which sat above another highway with cars speeding down it. As they watched the highway below them they noticed a girl walking down the side of the highway. She seemed to be stumbling slightly as she walked and cars had to keep swerving out of their lanes when she would stumble in their way. The two officers exchanged looks and started up their motorcycles. They raced down the highway, sirens blaring. When they reached the girl one officer pulled his motorcycle up in front of the girl while the other parked behind her, both officers getting off their bikes at the same time.

On closer inspection they noticed she couldn't be older than 9, she was wearing a heavy leather jacket that had a hole in it, her long brown hair was messy, her baby blue eyes seemed to be glazed over, and she was extremely pale. She swayed on her feet and stumbled slightly. The officer in front of her reached out to steady her, giving her a worried look.

"Miss are you all right?" He asked.

She barely even glanced up at him before her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out. The officer managed to catch her before she hit her head on the ground.

"Jon call for an ambulance," The officer who'd caught her exclaimed.

As Jon called for an ambulance the other officer looked the girl over. He noticed a large red stain on the white shirt she was wearing underneath her jacket. He moved the jacket aside and stared in horror at what he found underneath.

"Oh my god!" He breathed. Jon looked back at his partner.

"What is it Ponch?" Jon asked.

"She's been shot," Ponch stated, glancing up at his partner.

Jon raced over to the girl and glanced down at the large wound on her stomach which was bleeding profusely. Both officers shared a horrified look before Ponch reached down and placed his hands over the wound, applying pressure in an effort to stop the bleeding. Both officers could hear the sound of sirens approaching. Within a few minutes an ambulance had pulled up and paramedics rushed over to the two officers. The paramedics pushed the two CHP officers out of the way. As the paramedics got the girl into the ambulance another police officer pulled up on a motorcycle next to Ponch and Jon.

"What happened?" Sergeant Getraer asked, getting off his motorcycle.

"We're not sure. We saw her stumbling down the highway, and when we stopped her she just passed out. That's when we noticed she'd been shot," Ponch explained, glancing down at his blood covered hands.

"All right, follow the ambulance to the hospital. Hopefully when she wakes up she can tell you what happened," Getraer ordered. The two officers nodded their heads, and got on their motorcycles. The ambulance took off down the highway with the two officer's right behind it…

_**Several hours later**_

It had been several hours since Jon and Ponch arrived at the hospital, and they still hadn't heard anything about the girl they'd found. Ponch was pacing in the waiting room, while Jon was sitting in one of the chairs trying not to pay attention to his partner. After a few more minutes Jon sighed in irritation.

"Ponch you're going to wear a hole in the floor, would you please sit down!" Jon exclaimed, glancing up at his partner. Ponch looked over at Jon and sighed.

"Sorry. It's just been so long and we still haven't heard anything about the girl," Ponch replied. Suddenly a doctor walked into the waiting room and glanced over at the two officers.

"You two the ones who found the girl with the gun shot?" The doctor asked.

"That's us, how is she?" Jon asked, standing up.

"Well she's okay. She just got out of surgery. The bullet ruptured her appendix. She was lucky you found her when you did. She's in a room in the ICU right now," The doctor explained.

"Can we see her? We'd like to ask her some question about what happened," Ponch requested.

"Well, you can see her, but you won't get anything out of her she's still unconscious. She pry won't wake up for another couple hours. She's in room 224," The doctor said.

"You go ahead to the room I'm going to call Getraer and let him know what's going on, and that we'll pry be here for a while longer," Jon exclaimed, moving out of the room.

Ponch nodded his head, and moved down the hallway to the ICU, then to room 224. When he walked into the room and looked over at the bed he cringed. The girl looked like a ghost, there was an IV sticking out of her arm, and he noticed a few things he hadn't noticed before out on the highway. Like the fact that she looked like she hadn't eaten in a while, and that she had a large bruise running up her arm in the shape of a large hand. The sight of the bruise angered him beyond belief, and he couldn't help but wonder who could do something like this to a small child. Ponch sighed and sat down in the chair next to the bed. A few minutes later Jon walked into the room.

"What did Getraer say?" Ponch asked, glancing back at his partner.

"There hasn't been any reports of a missing child matching her description. Getraer's trying to get in touch with Social services but the lines been busy and he hasn't been able to get through," Jon replied.

"You're telling me no-ones missing her?" Ponch asked in disbelief.

Jon nodded his head, and sat down in the other chair on the other side of the hospital bed. Both glanced down at the small girl lying in the bed with sad expressions.

"I can't get over how pale she is," Ponch muttered, shaking his head.

"And how thin she looks," Jon added.

The two of them sighed and sat back in their chairs. Ponch and Jon sat there for several hours, occasionally getting up to use the bathroom or get something from the snack machine. After several hours the girl started to stir in the bed. Her eyes fluttered and both officers jumped out of their chairs.

"I'll get the doctor," Jon exclaimed, racing out of the room.

The girl let out a small groan, and reached up to rub her eye but stopped when the movement tugged at the IV in her arm. She opened her eyes and glanced down at the IV in confusion. Her eyes seemed slightly glazed over as she stared at the IV. Suddenly the door to the room opened and Jon and the Doctor rushed in. The girl jumped and glanced up at the two, her eyes going wide. Ponch had seen that look once before. It was the same look a deer he'd almost hit once when heading out on a camping trip had. The doctor walked over to the girl and she tried she shuffle back closer to the bed.

"Hey it's okay," Ponch exclaimed, bending down next to the bed so he was eye level with her.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, having just realized he was standing next to her. She glanced around at the three men around her, and she seemed to sink into the bed in an attempt to hide under the covers.

"I want to check her stitches but I don't think she's going to let me get near her, and I'm scared if we try she'll struggle and rip open her stitches," The doctor whispered to Jon. Jon nodded his head in understanding. Jon moved slowly over to Ponch, the little girl following his every move with her eyes, and knelt down next to his partner.

"Did you hear what the doctor said?" Jon whispered. Ponch nodded his head.

"Let me see if I can get her to calm down," Ponch whispered back. Ponch inched a little closer to the bed and gave the girl one of his famous smiles.

"Hey, the doctor wants to check your stitches. But in order to do that he's gonna have to come over here…" The girl's eyes got even wider if that was possible, and she sunk further into the bed shaking her head.

"Hey, no, no it's okay. None of us are going to hurt you, we just want to make sure you're okay," Ponch soothed. The girl seemed close to tears and her whole body seemed to be shaking.

"If you'd like I could hold your hand while the doctor checks your stitches, and if you get scared you can just squeeze my hand," Ponch suggested, holding out his hand and giving her another one of his famous smiles.

The girl glanced down at his hand for a second before hesitantly reaching out and taking his hand. Ponch couldn't help but noticed how small her hand was compared to his. Her hand fit in the palm of his hand. Ponch glanced back at the doctor and nodded his head. The doctor moved over to the bed and the girl squeezed Ponch's hand tightly, a small whimper escaping her mouth.

"It's all right," Ponch murmured, squeezing her hand back. The doctor quickly checked her stitches over then checked her vitals. Once he was done he grabbed Jon by the shoulder and pulled him to the side.

"Well she seems fine all things considered, the stitches are okay, and it doesn't look like the wound is infected. Though she is badly dehydrated, and it looks like she hasn't had much to eat in a few days," The doctor stated. Jon sighed, and glanced back over at the girl, who still had a tight grip on Ponch's hand.

"Is it okay to ask her a few questions now, or do you think we should wait?" Jon asked.

"You can try but with the way she's acting I don't think you're going to get much out of her," The doctor answered, shaking his head. Jon nodded his head and moved back to the bed while the doctor walked out of the room.

"What the doctor say?" Ponch asked.

"She's dehydrated and hasn't eaten in a while, but other than that she's fine," Jon replied.

"Did the doctor say it was okay to ask her a few questions?" Ponch asked. Jon nodded his head and glanced down at the girl. She still had a tight hold on Ponch's hand, but now she was looking down at her lap.

"Hey my names Jon, and this is my partner Ponch, what's your name?" Jon introduced, kneeling down next to Ponch. The girl glanced up at him for a second before leaning in close to Ponch, and hiding her face behind his arm. A small whimper escaped her mouth and tears formed in her eyes.

"Hey, no it's okay. Neither of us are going to hurt you," Ponch exclaimed, glancing down at her. She shook her head, and buried her face in Ponch's arm, squeezing his hand as tightly as possible. Both Jon and Ponch sighed, but Jon couldn't help but smile at the girl clutching Ponch's arm.

"Looks like she's taken a liking to you," Jon whispered. Ponch smiled slightly and shook his head.

"I guess so," He murmured.

Suddenly the door opened and Sgt. Getraer walked in. The girl glanced up at the new person in the room, and shrunk further into the bed, hiding her face completely behind Ponch's arm.

"Hey guys I talked to the doctor, have you managed to get anything from her?" Getraer asked.

"No she just keeps hiding behind Ponch," Jon answered.

Getraer looked down at Ponch's arm which was trapped in the little girl's grip. He could see a pair of baby blue eyes peeking out from behind Ponch's arm, but the second she saw he was looking at her she hid her face again. Getraer smiled slightly at the sight.

"Well I finally managed to get a hold of social services. The lady I talked to is pretty sure that she might be a foster kid but she said she has to check some of her files. She said she'll be here at the hospital in a couple hours," Getraer informed.

"If she's a foster kid than it's more than likely the person who shot her is her foster parent. And even if her foster parent isn't the one that shot her she still hasn't been feed in a couple of days, and I would like to know why said foster parent hasn't reported her missing yet," Ponch growled, rubbing his thumb over the girl's small hand. Getraer and Jon nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well you two get back out on the roads. I'll sit here with her till the lady from Social services gets here," Getraer ordered.

Ponch went to stand up but the girl grabbed hold of his arm with her other hand, whimpered, and attempted to tug him back down.

"Ugh Sarge I don't think I'm going to be able to go anywhere any time soon," Ponch exclaimed, glancing down at the girl clinging to his arm like a life line. Getraer and Jon both chuckled and shook their heads.

"All right Ponch you stay, call me when the lady from social services gets here," Getraer conceded. Jon and Getraer left and Ponch sat back down in his chair and smiled at the girl.

"So now that everyone else has left do you wanna tell me your name?" Ponch asked. The girl glanced up at him, her eyes wide and watery. But she didn't make a sound, she just stared up at him.

"All right then I guess I'll just have to guess your name," Ponch muttered.

For the next few minutes Ponch said different names but each time the girl just scrunched up her nose and shook her head slightly. At one point the girl's stomach growled loudly, and Ponch left to get her something to eat, but only after he managed to pry his arm away from her. Once he returned with a small thing of pudding the girl latched onto his arm again, and slowly started to eat…


	2. Chapter 2

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_**In Need**_

_Chapter Two_

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It had been an hour since Sgt Getraer and Jon had left, and Ponch was still trying to guess the little girl's name. He kept saying different names but each time the girl would just shake her head, or scrunch her nose up at the name. Ponch was just about to guess another name when the door opened and an older woman with blond hair pulled up into a bun walked into the room. The woman was carrying a large bag, and she wore a grey dress. The little girl glanced up at the woman and shrunk back into the bed.

"Hello I'm Valentine Hale I spoke with a Sgt Getraer a couple hours ago, I'm from social services," The woman introduced.

"I'm Ponch. My partner and I were the ones who found her walking down the highway," Ponch replied, standing up and offer his free hand for the woman to shake.

Valentine shook Ponch's hand and glanced down at the little girl lying on the bed. She still had a tight grip on one of Ponch's arms and it didn't look like she was going to let go any time soon.

"Getraer said you think you might have a file on her?" Ponch exclaimed.

"Yes actually I do. Her names Penny West, she's been in foster care since she was five," Valentine answered.

"Well Penny, that's a pretty name, wonder why I didn't think of that," Ponch said, glancing down at Penny. Penny glanced up at him for a second before glancing down at her lap. Ponch sighed and turned back to Valentine.

"I haven't been able to get her to say a single thing since she woke up," Ponch confessed.

"Well I expected that, apparently she saw her parents killed in a fire when she was five and according to her file she hasn't spoken since then," Valentine explained.

Ponch shook his head and glanced back down at Penny. The girl had gone through so much in the time that she'd been alive and it upset him.

"What about her foster parents, were are they?" Ponch asked, once again turning back to the social worker.

"Well she's had a lot of foster parents over the years, each one had problems with the lack of communication. As of right now she's been staying with a couple, Mr. Nickson and his wife. I called them once I found her file, but I haven't been able to get through to them," Valentine answered.

"I'll call Sgt. Getraer and have him get an officer to their house," Ponch suggested. Valentine nodded her head and handed Ponch a piece of paper with an address and phone number on it.

"That's their address and number in case you want to try calling them," Valentine stated. Ponch nodded his head, and turned to Penny.

"Hey Penny, I need to go call Getraer and let him know what Miss Valentine told me. But in order to do that I need you to let go of my arm, and I promise you I'll be right back," Ponch stated.

Penny stared up at him for a minute before nodded her head, and slowly let go of his arm. Ponch quickly left the room, and made a quick call to the station. It only took him a minute to explain what Valentine had told him, and to give Sgt. Getraer the address. Sgt Getraer said he'd have Jon check out the foster parent's house, and then the two hung up. Ponch quickly made his way back to Penny's room. When he got back to the room Valentine was sitting on one side of the bed talking softly to Penny, but Penny had curled herself up into a ball as far away from the woman as the bed would allow. The second she saw Ponch, Penny reached her hand out to him and whimpered slightly. Ponch smiled slightly at the sight, and walked over to the girl and took her hand.

"Hey it's okay Miss Valentine is here to help," Ponch stated. Penny shook her head and buried her face in Ponch's arm.

"Looks like she's taken a shining to you," Valentine exclaimed, smiling. Ponch nodded his head, and glanced down at Penny. She was rubbing her eyes, and he saw a yawn escape her mouth.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll be right here when you wake up," Ponch suggested, moving a piece of hair out of Penny's face. Penny nodded her head and laid back on the bed. Within a few minutes she was fast asleep.

"Sgt. Getraer said he was going to send my partner to Penny's foster parent's house, so we should know something pretty soon," Ponch stated.

While Ponch and Valentine talked about Penny, Jon pulled up outside the Nickson's house. The house was small, with only one floor, and all the lights in the house were off. Jon made his way up to the door, and was about to knock when he noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Jon pulled his gun and slowly made his way into the house. All the furniture was turned over, and there was glass littering the floor. Jon made his way into the kitchen and paused as a horrible smell reached his nose, also making note of all the empty beer bottles strewn across the counter top. He made his way around the counter and stopped once again at what he saw. A woman was lying on the floor, a pool of blood around her.

Jon silently moved to the woman and checked for a pulse, but couldn't find one. He sighed, and hung his head for a second before moving through the rest of the house. It was empty and Jon holstered his gun, then made his way back to his bike so he could call it in. within twenty minutes several police cars, and a coroner arrived, along with Sgt. Getraer. Jon watched as officer's tapped off the house, and the coroner made his way inside. It was obvious to Jon that someone, most likely Mr. Nickson, had shot Ms. Nickson and Penny had seen it. Then whoever shot Ms. Nickson tried to kill Penny. It angered Jon beyond believe that someone could do something like this to a small child, to anyone really.

"Jon why don't you head to the hospital and let Ponch know what you found," Getraer suggested, noticing Jon's upset demeanor. Jon nodded his head, and climbed onto his motor cycle.

"And Jon… we're going to get whoever did this," Getraer stated.

Jon put his helmet on and drove off heading towards the hospital. When he got there he stopped by the cafeteria, and grabbed a thing of chocolate pudding for Penny, then headed to room 224. When he got to the room Ponch and Valentine were talking quietly, and Penny was sleeping silently in between them. Jon couldn't help but smile at the fact that even though she was asleep she still had a tight hold on Ponch's hand.

"Hey Ponch," Jon exclaimed, moving towards the bed.

"Hey Jon, this is Valentine Hale the social worker," Ponch introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Jon replied, shaking Valentine's hand.

"Is that chocolate pudding?" Ponch asked, pointing at the pudding in Jon's hand.

"Yes, and it's for Penny," Jon answered, setting the pudding on the stand next to the bed.

"So did you talk with Mr. or Ms. Nickson?" Valentine asked. Jon shook his head, a frown making its way to his face.

"When I got there the door was open slightly, when I checked the house I found Ms. Nickson dead in the kitchen," Jon explained. Valentine gasped, her eyes going wide, and Ponch ground his teeth a scowl forming on his face.

"What about Mr. Nickson?" Ponch asked.

"He wasn't there," Jon answered.

Jon grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and sat down at the foot of the bed. Ponch glanced down at Penny. She looked so peaceful just lying there in the bed. Ponch couldn't understand how so many bad things could happen to such an innocent little girl.

"What's going to happen to Penny now?" Ponch asked.

"Well once the doctor says it's okay for her to leave the hospital she'll go to a new foster home… that is if I can find one that will take her," Valentine answered, shaking her head.

"So she'll pry just be bounced from house to house," Ponch stated, glancing up at the woman. Valentine sighed and nodded her head.

"More than likely. Most foster parents aren't equipped to deal with someone like Penny. She witnessed her parent's death at a young age and hasn't spoken a word since then, and now after this I'm afraid she may never speak. And most people don't want to deal with a troubled kid, they'd rather take care of a kid who smiles all the time and talks to them. I would take her in but the fact is with my job I travel to much, and wouldn't be home even to take care of her," valentine replied. Ponch frowned and Jon shook his head.

"The kids been through a lot, I just wish there was something we could do to help her," Jon muttered. Penny shifted in the bed, her eyes fluttering open.

"Hey look whose awake," Ponch murmured. A small smile made it's way onto her face.

"And look what we have for you," Jon exclaimed, grabbing the pudding and holding it out to her.

She glanced up at it then at Jon, then slowly reached out and took the cup and spoon from him. She'd just taken a bite of the pudding when the door opened and an older man with short curly brown hair walked into the room. He wore a suit, and a badge could be seen clipped to his belt.

"Hello I'm Detective Fusco. I'm the one that's going to be investigating the murder of Mrs. Nickson," The man introduced.

"I'm Jon Baker, and that's my partner Ponch. We're the one's that found Penny on the freeway. That's Valentine Hale, Penny's social worker," Jon stated, standing up and shaking the man's hand.

"Well I'd like to ask Penny a few questions about what happened, do you think she'd be up to it?" Fusco asked. Penny shrunk behind Ponch's hand again, and Jon, Ponch, and Valentine all shared a look.

"Well that's going to be a bit tough. She doesn't talk, she hasn't spoken a word since she was five," Valentine explained. Fusco sighed, and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Well I would at least like to get confirmation that Mr. Nickson is the one who shot both Penny and Mrs. Nickson. I have a picture of Mr. Nickson right here," Fusco stated, handing the paper over to Jon.

The picture on the paper was from a copy of the mans drivers license. It showed a man in his thirties with dark black hair and green eyes, with a small scar just above his left eye. Jon handed the paper over to Ponch.

"Penny, I'm going to show you a picture and I just want you to nod your head yes if the man in the picture is the person that shot you, okay?" Ponch said, glancing down at Penny.

Penny nodded her head, and Ponch turned the paper so that she could see the picture. Her eyes went wide in fear and she nodded her head, tightening her hold on Ponch's hand. Fusco sighed again.

"Well I've got a BOLO out on Mr. Nickson and his car already. He drives a green Volkswagen, and it has a dent on both the front passenger door and the bumper," Fusco advised.

"We'll keep an eye out for him," Ponch replied. Fusco nodded his head, took one last look at the small girl hiding behind Ponch's arm, and left.

"I should get back out there, I was only supposed to stop in to tell you about Mrs. Nickson," Jon stated.

"I should pry go with you, I'm sure Getraer wouldn't really mind me sitting here with Penny, but I'm not exactly of the clock yet," Ponch added. Penny shook her head at this.

"Hey don't worry I'll be back after work, and until I get back I'm sure Ms. Hale wouldn't mind staying here with you. I'll only be gone a few hours okay," Ponch said.

Penny glanced up at him with sad eyes and reluctantly let go of his arm. Ponch nodded at Valentine, gave Penny one last bright smile, and then he and Jon left.

"Penny I know how much you like to draw, so I took the liberty of bringing you a sketch pad and a pencil, I even have some crayons for you," Valentine exclaimed, pulling the items out of her bag.

She set the items down on the bed, and Penny immediately picked them up. She opened the sketch pad up to the first blank page and slowly started to draw. Valentine sat back and watched the little girl draw, wondering just how she was going to be able to help this poor girl...

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_**AN: I don't know how I feel about this chapter. I don't know, I like it but at the same time I don't :( Well review and let me know what you think of the chapter. Oh and Detective Fusco is from Homicide division obviously. Once it was found that MRS. Nickson was murdered the case was handed over to Homicide division and Detective Fusco was assigned to the case. And Brownie Points for anyone who can tell me what character from what show I based Fusco off of ;)**_


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